


and you can lie with me with your tiny paws

by sopattable



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Harry is still Harry, Louis anti-ships Narry, M/M, absolutely not even the tiniest bit of smut, but i mean like he's a LITERAL kitten, i mean i know he's a kitten all the time, im sorry, kitten!fic, like a cat, meow, niall pov, shameless fluff, that's essentially it., yes louis is a kitten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 20:13:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2201580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sopattable/pseuds/sopattable
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Niall’s door bursts open unceremoniously, and he hastens to grab the duvet to cover himself. “What in the hell, Harry—“</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Louis is a kitten,” Harry says seriously. He’s wrapped in a shockingly short house-coat and Niall refuses to think of how little he’s wearing underneath.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I know you think he’s cute, but seriously guys you—“</i>
</p><p><i>“No, I mean it. Like, I woke up, and Louis was gone. But there was a kitten.” </i><br/> <br/>Or, a fic in which Louis is a kitten, Harry is trying to figure things out, and Niall is along for the ride. Shameless fluff and absurdity may ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and you can lie with me with your tiny paws

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lzcatalina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lzcatalina/gifts).



> So this is based on prompts for HL summerfest of course, for lzcatalina! I had a bunch of different options given to me in the prompt since it was pretty general, but I used Niall POV, kitten!fic and kitten Louis which were all options and came up with....THIS. So I hope you enjoy :) :) I'm a pinch-hitter so this was pretty last minute but I do hope this fic is adorable, sappy, and silly !
> 
> title is a modified version of a line of Ed Sheeran's "Small Bump" because Ed is king yet he still hasn't written a song about his kitten (THAT WE KNOW OF)

Niall has come to expect weird noises during the five days he’s spent staying at Harry and Louis’ flat. While his two friends had welcomed him with a smile and freshly baked cookies, their suspiciously ruffled hair and glassy eyes indicated that the two of them would likely have a lot of fun _without_ him during his visit. The ficus poorly concealing a half-empty bottle of lube could attest to that. But still, Niall has thoroughly and 100% enjoyed watching his greatest ship sail right before his eyes…even when he was pretty sure they were doing more than snuggling on the couch when they were watching Iron Man.Though Niall has heard a lot of weird things, and has had some very strange thoughts invade his dreams (likely due to the weird things he’s hearing)….well. It could be a lot worse. Niall’s had lots of good laughs, lots of great pints, and as long as he doesn’t give Harry too many hugs everyone seems to be happy.

 

Although Niall has grown accustomed to these weird noises, the incessant “mewing” he hears coming from the bedroom one morning is a bit strange, and frankly rather annoying. Part of him is not convinced that the noises from the renovations being done to his own flat would be any more obnoxious. It’s 7am, and Niall isn’t exactly a morning person.“Guys, can you just… be quieter?” he moans, banging on the wall. “You’ve shagged nine times since I got here! Don’t you fuckers sleep?!”

 

“Twelve,” a concerned Harry corrects, in a low voice. “But uh, Niall, that’s not exactly what’s happening now.”

 

Niall rolls over and covers his eyes with a lazy arm. “I don’t want to know, Harry. I really don’t. Now if you don’t mind I need to get some…”

 

Niall’s door bursts open unceremoniously, and he hastens to grab the duvet to cover himself. “What in the hell, Harry—“

 

“Louis is a kitten,” Harry says seriously. He’s wrapped in a shockingly short house-coat and Niall refuses to think of how little he’s wearing underneath.

 

“I know you think he’s cute, but seriously guys you—“

 

“No, I mean it. Like, I woke up, and Louis was gone. But there was a kitten.” Harry pauses, his face very serious. “Now, while Louis could have left in the middle of the night in theory, I don’t know where the kitten would have come from. So, uh. Louis is a kitten.”

 

Niall groans and opens his eyes. Sitting up, he squints. 

 

In Harry’s arm is a kitten. A little fuzzy tabby thing, it’s struggling in Harry’s arms, making a frantic ‘mew mew mew mew’ sound as it tries to get down. 

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Niall says, but Harry perches himself on the edge of Niall’s bed, trying to get the squirming kitten to be still.

 

“Louis,” he says. “Louis listen to me! I’ve got you and I’m gonna take care of you, okay?”He looks at Niall sadly. “I’ve been trying to get him to calm down for the past half hour but all he does is squirm and panic.”

 

Niall cocks an eyebrow. “Can I see him?” he asks, reaching over to try to take the kitten from Harry, but Harry shuffles defensively. 

 

“If I can’t calm Louis down, then I really doubt you can…” he tells Niall, but Niall is determined to try. 

 

“Tommo! Come in for a hug!” The cat (can Niall really call him Louis?) looks at Niall, his big blue eyes slightly narrowed. “I’ll get you a nice bowl of cream and some tea—“

 

“Niall, cats can _not_ eat milk! That’s not a thing. It’s just in the cartoons and stuff—“ Louis proceeds to jump out of Harry’s arms, and catapult himself at Niall. Niall grins.

 

“See? He’s just hungry. He knows that I will feed him something other than vegetables. Do you you want some fries little guy? A hamburger? Or a proper full English breakfast?”

 

Harry shakes his head. "You  _know_ I'd be the one making that breakfast." Louis(?) turns his head almost apologetically, but nuzzles into Niall. “Okay, if that’s how you’re gonna be Lou, I’ll leave you and Niall to it.” He shakes his head with a gentle laugh and goes to leave the room, but Niall isn’t the slightest bit surprised to see the kitten leap out of his arms, and run to the end of the bed, skirting to a stop when it realizes how big the fall is. Harry turns to look at him, and scolds him for a second.

 

“Now, Louis, I see you’ll come with me now, huh? What if I’d just left you here with Niall?”

 

“Meooow.”

 

“Okay, you’re right. We’ll let him get a bit more sleep. Breakfast?” And with a purr, Harry scoops Louis into his arms, scratching him gently under the chin, and Niall just shakes his head. He will never understand these two, but he’s damn glad they’re his best friends…assuming that Louis is actually a cat. With these two, it’s hard to tell. This might just be some sort of elaborate prank. Niall should probably be careful.

 

—

 

When Niall leaves the bedroom, he finds Harry standing by the stove, wearing nothing other than shorts that are far too short and an apron (“All four nipples hurt the same when you burn them, Niall. You can’t be too careful.”). The cat, which he absolutely refuses to call Louis, is perched on Harry’s head, with its paws seemingly stuck in his curls. It looks quite bewildered.

 

“Oh hi Niall,” Harry says, barely turning his head. “You’re just in time for a full English breakfast. I _wasn’t_ going to make one, but now that you’ve put the idea into Louis’ head, he won’t stop meowing about it.”As if on cue, the cat lets out a little yowl, and Harry pats it affectionately.

 

Niall eyes the cat suspiciously. It seems to narrow its eyes in response.“I thought you said cream wasn’t good for cats.”

 

Harry considers. “Well, no,” he responds. “But Louis isn’t technically a cat. Also, Nandos isn’t exactly good for people, but I don’t complain every time you eat it.”

 

Niall loves his friends. Always good for a laugh. “You got me!” 

 

Harry chuckles along too, as he serves three plates of breakfast - one quite large, one medium, and one very small. As he lays them down on the table with a smile and a flourish, the cat leaps off Harry’s head and positions itself in front of the biggest plate. Its tongue snakes out of its mouth mischievously, and it begins to lower its head to the plate, before Harry grabs it and positions it in front of the smallest plate. 

 

“Meow!”

 

“You’re lucky you’re getting any,” Harry tells him sternly, but he can’t stop his smile from creeping out from behind it. 

 

“You two are disgusting!” Niall is probably starting to ship the relationship between Harry and the cat. He isn’t sure what this says about him. He feels a little weird watching the cat dig into to the sausage and egg, because cats just aren’t supposed to be like that, but he supposes that in this household he has to get over seeing weird things.

 

\--

Harry is doing the dishes, because of _course_ he’s the type to do them right away. The cat, the little bastard, is sitting on the counter, licking itself, and looking rather smug. This is likely no great change, however, as Niall is well aware that if Louis was actually there he’d probably spend more time trying to swat Harry’s arse with the drying rag than actually drying dishes. Niall has no idea how things actually get done in this flat, although he’s certain that Louis does, in fact, help, even if he’s a little slower than Harry and complains a bit. 

 

 

However, Louis the cat, if this is in fact Louis, does not help at all, and Niall finds himself wielding the drying rag despite Harry’s insistence that ‘guests don’t have to help with chores!’ As he dries a fork, he eyes Harry and the cat suspiciously.

 

“So how did Louis become a cat anyway?”

 

Harry frowns. “Not sure!” he responds, pondering the thought for a moment. “We were saying last night that it would be really nice to have a cat, and then I woke up with one beside me.”

 

“Are you sure Louis didn’t just….go out and buy a cat?”

 

Harry considers the idea, then looks at the cat, which is now rolling around on its back on the counter, looking quite content. “Louis stop. You’re gonna get the counter dirty.”

 

The cat immediately stops rolling, and looks at Harry, blue eyes sparkling.

 

Harry turns to Niall. “He says that I didn’t care last time he pressed me up against that counter an—“

 

“TMI man, TMI. I have seen and heard e _nough—“_

 

“Point is, this cat responds to the name Louis, seems to know me, and Louis would never get out of bed and buy a cat before 7am.”

 

Out of all these points, the last one is by far the most convincing.

 

“Maybe he called for delivery.”

 

Harry’s eyebrow twitches. “Cat delivery?”

 

“If you’re rich enough, anything is delivery.”

 

“Before 7am?”

 

“If you’re rich enough…”

 

Harry laughs as he places the final plate on the drying rack. “Whatever you say, Niall. I don’t know how, or why, but this cat is Louis, and he’s coming with me now. Right, Boo?”

 

As if on command, and perhaps it was, the cat leaps from the counter, and onto Harry’s arm, settling itself there comfortably.Niall doesn’t know what the hell this is, but it’s really weird.

 

——

 

Niall finds Harry and the cat curled up together on the couch. Harry is scratching it between the ears and under the chin, and the cat is making the most inhumane purring noise. Niall supposes that this makes sense, given that the cat is not, in fact, a human, but a cat, but the only thing that’s going to convince him that it’s Louis is if it starts talking like Louis.

 

Harry smiles. “Louis always liked when I patted his head, and he was always a little sensitive under the ch—“

 

“Remember earlier when I said TMI? I meant that.”

 

“The chin really isn’t that intimate a spot, Niall,” Harry says, clearly amused.

 

“With you two, you can never really tell,” Niall responds, and he’s serious, really, he is.

 

Harry smiles, but it’s not at Niall, and he knows it. Niall has long since learned that Harry and Louis live in their own little bubble half the time, and that’s a part of his friendship with them that he has grown to accept. 

 

“What does Louis have to say?” he asks, trying to be generous.

 

Harry looks down at the cat for a moment. Suddenly he giggles. “He says that if you try to pat me like I’m patting him he will claw you.”

 

Niall laughs. He reaches out and tousles Harry’s curls affectionately. “That bug you, little fella?” The cat looks up at him, ears flattened, face scrunched. “Well I think I’m just going to give Harry here a big old hug—“

 

“MEOW.”

 

 

————

 

The incident at lunchtime left much to be desired. After Louis’ frightened yowl at too hot tea had knocked over Harry’s glass of pineapple juice, his attempts to lick it all off had proven fruitless (Harry’s choice of pun, certainly not Niall’s). Now, a grumpy kitty and two disgruntled young men found themselves in the bathroom, hovering over the bathtub. 

 

“This just seems unfair,” Harry pouts. “The bathtub is meant to be for pleasant, relaxing moments, not torture.”

 

Niall prods him gently. “Do you really want your entire flat to be covered in sticky goo?”

 

“Actually, to be fair, it’s alrea—”

 

“You know what, I take that statement back. Are you really that deprived now that Louis is a cat that you have to talk about your sexual exploits all the time?”

 

Harry frowns. “Well, no,” he says. “It just seems weird, now that Louis can’t talk, because _someone_ has to bring up this stuff if he can’t.”

 

Niall is trying to think of an adequate response to that but a wriggling Louis jumps from Harry’s arms, and attempts to run out of the bathroom. Niall is quick on his feet to grab the wildly running cat, but Louis wriggles away, darting from room to room, until he finally crawls under Harry and Louis’ bed. Niall is all ready to go after the little bastard, when Harry stops him.

 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he tells him.

 

“Is it….?”

 

“Don’t ask.” Instead Harry carefully gets down close to the ground and peeks under the bed. “Louis,” he says gently. “I really would love to cuddle with you later.” Louis doesn’t move, but Niall can see his eyes glowing in the darkness. Harry continues. “But you know I don’t like sticky cuddles. So, can we please, please, give you a bath?” He pauses. “No, I can’t get naked.” He pauses again. “Well, if Niall left— no. That’s weird. You’re a cat. When you’re a human again, sure.” Niall might have to leave the room. “No, come out now. Please? I’ll bake you cookies! I love you. Come out please? We can snuggle after okay?” Harry looks deep under the bed, and then stands up, brushing off his knees. “Okay, fine, stay under there. See you later. Niall and I are gonna go watch Grease. I wonder if he’ll do the dance with me…that would be fun! Niall, what do you think?”

 

Louis comes scurrying out from under the bed, and Harry grabs him tightly. “Grease after bath, okay babe?”

 

Louis’ ears flatten slightly, but he doesn’t wriggle away. Harry kisses his sad sticky head. Niall is pretty sure that’s a dedication of true love. 

 

When Louis finally sits under the stream of water, fur plastered to his face, back arched, and yowling ridiculously, Harry tries to pamper him, but ends up laughing hysterically because he looks so ridiculous. Niall is pretty sure that a smirking coddling Harry and a yowling wet Louis is one of the best things he’s ever seen. Louis looks absolutely ridiculous, and he is definitely taking a bunch of pictures of him that he will later post on Instagram, to their fans’ utter confusion.

 

 

After Harry has towelled Louis off, and has him looking especially fluffy and soft, he wraps him in a blanket and snuggles him. The only thing poking out of the blanket is a little furry face, and Niall absolutely does not think it’s adorable when Harry kisses his little nose (Louis’ nose, not Niall’s; that would be gross) and lets out cute little cooing noises. 

 

“You guys are gross.”

 

Harry shrugs. “I’ll be back,” he tells Niall seriously. “Gotta do something.” He begins to skip away, a disgruntled and swaddled Louis in tow. As always, Niall isn’t sure he wants to know. He plops himself down on the couch, and grabs a bag of crisps, munching contentedly…until he hears a yowl.

 

“ _No_ , Louis. It’s okay. Just hang in there…I…”

 

“MEEOOOOW.”

 

Man. Niall is never going to get a rest today is he? “What the hell is going on in there?” he asks, rising to his feet, and making his way towards the sounds.

 

“Wait Niall, not yet. It’s not ready yet—“

 

“Meooooow, meow meow meow, MEOW.”

 

Niall flings open the door, to reveal a most peculiar sight.

 

Harry covers Louis with his hand. “He needs a minute,” he says solemnly. “I think he’s embarrassed.”

 

“Meow.”

 

“Harry, what did you do???”

 

Harry cautiously removes his hand, and displays Louis to Niall. 

 

Louis is wearing a little sailor’s outfit. It’s white and cleanly pressed, and has blue on the collar and sleeves. There are scattered pictures of anchors, but the best part of the entire get-up is the hat. A navy blue sailor’s hat is perched on Louis’ head, and the elastic is tight under his chin. Louis’ ears are plastered flat against his head, and he looks pissed. This is probably justified. 

 

Niall’s never seen anything funnier. Louis also seems unimpressed with Niall’s reaction.

 

“Harry, where the hell did you get that?”

 

Harry is still holding Louis protectively. “Well,” he says, slightly embarrassed, “Sometimes when I’m out I see baby clothes that will be cute for…uh….ourfuturekids.” He pauses. “And anyway, I just thought it would look really cute on Louis.”

 

Niall can barely get words out between his laughter. “ _I_ love it,” he declares. “But, Louis certainly doesn’t seem to like it.”

 

It’s true. Louis is not impressed with his outfit and he makes that matter quite clear by clawing at Harry and making pitiful noises. Niall has plans to make a whole Instagram set, or maybe a fan-video because this is priceless. “It’s okay, Louis. If you don’t like this outfit, I have 5 other options. Surely you’ll like one!” Louis stills for a moment, and then tenses every part of his body and launches himself out of Harry’s arms and out their open window. 

 

“Louis?? Nooooo!” Harry screams, and runs to the window.

 

“Tommo? You okay?” 

 

Niall and Harry watch in horror (and admittedly some amusement) as Louis, still wearing his sailor outfit, scurries down the roof, down a drainpipe, and onto the grass. His hat is hanging sideways on his head, and his eyes look wild and frightened. Harry looks concerned, but Niall is pretty sure this is the funniest thing he’s ever seen, and YouTube will definitely agree.

 

“Shit, Niall we have to go get him!” Niall does not turn off his video as he follows Harry down the stairs, and out into the garden. There they find Louis, darting around wildly, tail stiff, and ears perked.

 

“Louis honey, come back!” Harry tries. Niall might be crying a little bit.Not out of fear. Laughter. Definitely laughter.

 

Louis doesn’t listen to Harry, and it’s clear that he has no intentions to. He darts around the corner, and suddenly halts to a stop. 

 

Niall peeks around the corner, Harry right behind him. It appears that Louis has found his favourite football. The sun has caught it in its rays so it sits displayed, as if in a spotlight. Harry freezes too, as Louis cautiously prances around it, jumping cautiously, as if casing out its prey. And then suddenly, as if in slow motion, Louis pounces, hair on end, claws splayed and out. He lands on the football with a satisfied “Meow”, and goes to turn to Harry as if to say ‘look at me!’. However, as Louis goes to turn his body, it’s clear that he registers something very unfortunate - his claw has gotten lodged in the ball, and he is stuck.

 

“Meow!”

 

“Louis…” Harry cautions, but Louis is pulling frantically, trying to loosen his paw from its attachment to the ball. With a final yank, he pulls his claw out from the ball’s skin, but a hissing noise begins. It’s not Louis. Niall falls silent as he watches the ball slowly deflate under a very bewildered and sad kitten until he is lying in a ball, a fully delated football beneath him. Only Louis’ ears are visible, as well as the crooked sailor’s cap,and Niall and Harry freeze for a moment, in anticipation of what is to come. After what feels like ages, Louis’ head pops up from the sides of the curled ball.

 

“Meooooow,” Louis cries mournfully. Niall cackles, as Harry rushes in to scoop him up from the wreckage.

 

The video is already uploading to YouTube.

 

 

—

 

Louis, as Niall is finally semi-comfortable calling him, is stretched out in a patch of sun under the window.It appears that he has finally recovered from the football and clothing disaster of 2012, as he’s lying on his back, paws splayed, eyes closed, and Niall is fairly certain he’s asleep. He hopes that he is asleep, because Louis has been eyeing him closely every time he’s gotten close to Harry ever since the patting incident, and Niall would just like to relax. 

 

Harry is quite engrossed in his laptop screen, and is making perplexed faces.

 

“Whatcha doing, Harry?” Niall asks, checking to his left to make sure Louis’ eyes are shut, before leaning in closer to look.

 

“Trying to figure out why Louis’ a cat,” Harry tells him seriously. “I thought at first that maybe he was being too catty in interviews, and the universe decided to give him a taste of his own medicine, but he’s actually been pretty tame lately.” He pauses. “Like a house cat!” He seems somewhat satisfied with that answer.

 

Niall is less satisfied. “Yeah, but don’t you find it kind of weird that he just…became a cat?”

 

“Well, yes.” Harry frowns. “But I mean, we shouldn’t treat it like a catastrophe.”

 

“Did you just…”

 

“There’s probably not a purrfect explanation for the situation.” Harry’s face looks strained as he speaks these words, and Niall groans.

 

“Harry, would you please —“

 

“It’s probably just the way the stars lined up or something, with the moon, and when we said we wanted a cat it was at _just_ the right time, and then suddenly, bam, he’s a cat! Just like that. It’s simple. It’s not permanent. He’ll be back. I _know_ he’ll be back.” Harry is speaking with desperation, and all of a sudden his face crumbles, and he buries his head into Niall’s shoulder. Niall brings him in closer, and pats him gently on the back.

 

“He’ll be back Harry. He will.”

 

“But what if he’s not?” Harry says, his voice breaking slightly. “I mean, I really wanted a cat, but I want Louis _so_ much more and god, even a thousand cats could never make up for how much I love Louis. Nothing could make up for what it’s like to have him beside me, to wake up to him in my arms, to see his pranks…and to pull pranks with him. Nothing could be as wonderful as his little jokes, or how he’ll sometimes jump out and surprise me with kisses when I get home, and how terrible he is at cooking, and how when I’m feeling sick he sings to me. Nothing could replace how loved he makes me feel. Nothing could ever replace my Louis.” The last words are whispered so softly, that Niall can barely hear them. 

 

Niall hates to see Harry so sad. He squeezes him tighter and closer, and lets Harry snuggle into him. He’s pretty sure Harry’s crying, and he’s not remotely okay with seeing his friend in this state.

 

“I’m so sorry, Harry,” he tells him gently. “I… I’m sure Louis will be back, and be everything you love again, but for now, I’m here, okay? And that’s not gonna change. I’m always going to be here for you—“

 

“MEOOOOOW!”

 

A ball of flying fur and claws has landed right between Harry and Niall with a wild yowl. Niall freezes for a second, then leaps to his feet, bursting into wild gales of laughter. Harry looks stunned as a wild Louis, who had apparently climbed up the curtains and along the curtain rod before his attack, stares at Niall with flattened ears and an arched back. As Niall laughs himself sick, Louis calms, and possessively positions himself into Harry’s arms.

 

After giving Harry adequate time to snuggle with the cat (as well as letting his gales of laughter calm to a slight chuckle), Niall smiles. “Cat or not, it looks like you still have your Louis.”

 

Harry gives a small smile. “You’re absolutely right,” he says. “I absolutely do.” Louis nuzzles him as if to say, “And, you always will.”

 

——

 

Niall, Harry, and Louis have had a lovely supper, and are now relaxing in the living room. Niall is highly entertained by all the comments on his picture of a very wet Louis the cat, and he decides to read them off to Harry.

 

“Get this,” he tells them, “One fan says, ‘That cat doesn’t even look like Louis - it’s much cuter!’” Louis lets out an irritated little hiss, and Harry holds him close. “Another says ‘We want real wet Louis’, another says that I should post pictures of all of us in the bath…yikes… and another one insists that I’m in love with Louis because I named a cat after him.” He chuckles, as Louis half-heartedly swipes at him with his paw. “The general consensus from everyone, however, is that you are a very cute cat, even when having a bath. The fans love you.”

 

Harry smiles. “That’s because he’s pretty loveable,” he tells Niall. “Louis," he continues gently, and Louis perks up his ears and snuggles in closer, purring softly. "Let's take a picture together. A new picture of us online...except no one will know!" Louis lets out a little meow and Harry holds his phone out, prepared to take a picture. Suddenly Louis bounds up Harry's arm, takes a seat on his shoulder, and stretches out his little neck and nuzzles Harry right on the nose. Harry giggles as the picture is taken, and Niall isn’t certain if he's disgusted, or hopelessly endeared at their adorable-ness.

 

"Louis you're such a menace," Harry grins. "I love you." 

 

"You two are disgusting," Niall announces for what feels like the thousandth time, as Harry proceeds to flip through a couple filters, a satisfied and cheeky-looking Louis snuggled back into his arms. Harry pauses for a minute. as if in thought. "Kiss me right meow," he decides, and clicks "post" on his instagram.

 

 

Instantly Harry's feed begins to blow-up with comments.

 

“Ooh is that the same cat Niall posted? Harry's hanging out with Niall!"

 

"I bet the real Louis' there!!! That's at their flat!"

 

“Isn’t that cat named Louis???!?!? LARRY IS REAL”

 

"Did Harry and Louis get a kitten?? AWWW"

 

"oooooh kitten kisses. LOUIS is gonna be jealous!!!!"

 

"NOW imagine that's him and Louis!!"

 

"Harry fuck ym ass"

 

Okay, maybe the last one isn't as cute, but Harry seems pleased to see the positive response to the picture of him and Louis, even if they don't know what it is. "Someday we'll get to post even more of these," he whispers, barely audible. "And then, it will be with our real faces."

 

Niall is 100% in support of this relationship but he has had enough mushy for the day, so he rises to his feet. "Okay, who wants to watch Grease?"

 

"Meow!"

 

"Me!"

 

So the three of them snuggle up on the couch, DVD in the player, and smiles on their faces. Louis can't quite figure out how to eat the popcorn, and ends up licking up the salt and throwing it around on the floor for the first half of the movie, highly amused. When he finally settles back up on the couch with Harry and Niall, he appears to be watching with rapt attention. When ’You’re the One That I Want’ starts to play, Louis leaps from Harry’s lap and begins scratching at and nipping at Harry’s feet while meowing frantically.

 

“Louis,” Harry says, amused. “Do you want me to dance?”

 

“Meow!” 

 

Harry grins and rises to his feet. Niall records the whole thing. This one’s not for the internet though — it’s for their wedding. 

 

— 

 

It’s been a busy day for a kitten. Niall isn’t particularly tired, but he can tell Louis is, because he’d tried to walk across the room, but had ended up standing in one place, sleepily staring at Harry with a soft little kitten look on his face, and then falling over in a pile on the floor. Harry had giggled and scooped Louis up into his arms with a declaration of “It’s time for Louis to go to bed, so, goodnight Niall.”

 

Despite Niall’s insistence that it was ‘only 10pm’ and ‘you two are lame’, Harry had told him solemnly that he knew that Louis didn’t sleep well alone, and he wanted to be there with him through the night, especially if he were too become human again while he slept. “Which he should,” Harry had told him. “People are usually only cats for a day.” Niall had no idea where Harry had gleamed this knowledge, but he hoped it was true because as cute as Louis was as a cat, they did need proper Louis back eventually. As Harry had wandered off singing, “When you’re human again, only human again, when this curse fin'lly sets you free, cheeks a-bloomin' again, we’re assumin' again, we’ll resume our long lost joie de vie,” Niall found himself smiling fondly…until he noticed the bottle of lube hidden in the plant again. Ah yes, that’s what it means to be human again. Joy.

 

Niall finds himself aimlessly wandering down the hall fifteen minutes later, and when he passes Harry and Louis’ room, he can hear a voice singing softly from the inside. 

 

“Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr,” Harry coos, and Niall knows he really should walk away, but he’s thoroughly enjoying the tenderness of the moment. Then Harry begins singing another song gently to him - “You’re still the one I run to, the one that I belong to, you’re still the one I want for life.” Nope, Niall has had enough. He now knows better than to listen in, and this is 100% worse than listening to them have sex. And somehow way more intimate. 

 

Even as Niall walks away, he can still hear Harry singing.

 

“You’re still the one that I love, the only one I dream of, you’re still the one I kiss goodnight. Goodnight Louis.”

 

“Meow.” 

 

As Niall finally gets into bed later that night, he looks at the pictures from the day and smiles. Harry and Louis certainly are weird, but he’s so glad that he has them and he’s gotten to spend the week in their flat. It’s always an adventure with those two. Now he just hopes that in the morning Louis will be back, because otherwise a plan will have to be made, and he has no idea how to explain to a doctor that ‘my best friend became a cat.’ 

 

—

 

Niall is rudely awoken from his peaceful slumber. What? No. There it is.Niall hears a familiar whine, and mewing coming from the other side of the wall, but this one is different from yesterday’s noises. He checks the clock next to the bed. It’s 7am.Niall rolls over with a muffled groan. “Louis better not still be a cat!” he shouts, and is met with giggles.

 

“Come on, Niall,” Louis shouts in response. “Everyone knows Harry doesn’t like pussy.”

 

Niall can’t help but laugh.

 

The End :)

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to louissincerely who talked to me about her cats while I wrote this. I’m pretty sure half these ideas are hers. Oh and her kitty Dexie gets credit too. Thanks to the other people who read it beforehand too :) I can’t list them all because it will reveal my identity D:
> 
> Also, I don’t have a cat. It’s a real tragedy.


End file.
